Under the Moonlight

Chapter 45

Meng Yao's eyes burned with a mixture of rage and disbelief as the stakes in the back of his men's heads shattered. His control, the power he had painstakingly built, crumbled in an instant. His pulse quickened, a rising panic settling in as his plan unraveled before him. His gaze snapped toward Xue Yang, now standing free from his influence, calm and unreadable. The tension between them crackled in the air.

"You betrayed me?" Meng Yao's voice quivered with fury, barely restrained, his expression twisting in disbelief. He took a step forward, the weight of his seething anger pressing down on Xue Yang.

Xue Yang remained unfazed, the corners of his mouth curling into a slow, mocking smirk. "Yes," he answered coolly, his voice sharp and clear, slicing through the chaos. "I did."

Meng Yao's disbelief turned into palpable rage as he stalked toward Xue Yang, his body trembling with fury. "But I have the Tiger Tallies! You gave them to me! How the hell is Wei Wuxian controlling the corpses without his flute?!"

Xue Yang let out a low, dark chuckle, his eyes gleaming with a wicked glint. "What you have," he drawled, taking a deliberate step closer, "are worthless copies, laced with just enough dark magic to keep your ego fed." He tilted his head slightly, his smirk widening as if savoring Meng Yao's growing desperation. "The real Tallies? They're with the one person who actually deserves them."

The color drained from Meng Yao's face as the full weight of Xue Yang's words hit him. His hands clenched tightly at his sides, his body shaking with barely-contained rage. "You... you gave them to Wei Wuxian!" The words were more of a hiss than a shout, his fury burning like wildfire.

Xue Yang's smile deepened, a flicker of satisfaction dancing in his eyes. "Who else?" he replied smoothly, his voice filled with a lethal calm. "He's the only one capable of setting things right."

The finality of Xue Yang's words cut through Meng Yao like a blade. The realization that he had been nothing more than a pawn—played, used, discarded—ignited something dark inside him. But Xue Yang remained unbothered, his expression gleeful, almost sinister, as he added, "I was never on your side, Meng Yao. I was simply waiting for someone stronger, smarter, more deserving to bring you down." His voice dropped, cold and menacing. "And now? Your time is up."

At the same time, Jiang Yanli's heart raced, each beat thundering in her chest as she watched Lan Wangji snap free of Meng Yao's control. Her breath caught, fear crawling up her spine like ice. Meng Yao had promised her that with the stake in him, she could control him to do her bidding, but now she stood frozen, bracing herself for the fury she was certain would follow—rage that would lash out like a storm and tear her apart. But what came next startled her. Lan Wangji didn't even look her way. There was no anger, no retaliation. Instead, with a single, purposeful motion, he bolted toward his two pups, Lan Rulan and Lan Sizhui, pulling them into his arms with a desperation she had never seen from him.

His face, usually so composed and unreadable, was etched with raw fear and worry. The calm that always surrounded him had vanished, replaced by a primal, protective instinct. His powerful pheromones surged through the air, flooding the battlefield, forming a protective barrier that wrapped around his sons like an unbreakable shield, warding off the chaos and danger.

"Are you both okay?" His voice, though soft, carried an urgency that trembled beneath the surface, as if he needed to hear their voices to assure himself that they were truly there, safe and unharmed.

Lan Sizhui, his body trembling like a leaf in the wind, couldn't bring himself to lift his head. His pale face reflected the deep shame and hurt weighing down on him. He nodded weakly, but the gesture was hollow, his guilt too overwhelming for him to meet his father's gaze. The weight of the accusations still clung to him like chains.